Building Boom Temporarily Halted in Norwood by David Greene

Two of three apartment buildings currently under construction along Webster Avenue were recently slapped with stop -worker orders, temporarily halting Norwood’s building boom.

Officials at the Department of Buildings (DOB) confirmed that a partial stop-work order was issued for 3084 Webster Avenue and work was limited to just 75-feet from ground level at the soon-to-be-completed 11-story building, after inspectors determined that a construction elevator was not operational.

A stop-work order issued by the Department of Buildings to Be Bronx Builders was the latest infraction at the site.–Photo by David Greene

The partial stop-work order was issued to Be Bronx Builders on Monday, October 2 and the order was rescinded on October 5, when DOB officials say the problem was corrected.

The project received unwanted media attention back in April when a crane dropped a load of concrete three floors, injuring one construction worker.

According to DOB records, Be Bronx Builders currently has 17 open violations and unpaid fines totaling $82,000.

Work at a second property at 3109 Webster Avenue has stopped until contractors remove an illegal staircase and erect a scaffold.–Photo by David Greene

Calls for comment sought from Be Bronx Builders and from the property owner The Stagg Group were not returned.

Meanwhile, across the street at 3103 Webster Avenue, where a 5-story decking is being built over a 1-story restaurant, DOB officials again state that a partial stop-work order was issued on September 28 after workers installed an illegal, temporary 45-foot wooden staircase that was not in the approved plans of construction.

Officials say full work at the site will not begin until the staircase is removed, and an overhead protection scaffold could be erected on one side of the structure and a re-inspection by DOB inspectors. A hearing is expected to take place on November 17.

As worker’s were tending to the needed repairs, a second stop-work order was issued at the site on October 7, when an inspector reported undermining and shaking of the building next door. The building next door also complained to the DOB that worker’s were trespassing in their backyard.

Workers from Platinum TNT Builders are busy removing an illegal wooden staircase before the 5-story building can be completed.–Photo by David Greene

Currently the DOB reports that the contractor Platinum TNT, LLC of Brooklyn has received 12 violations and 10 violations remain open.

Regarding stop-work orders and fines, a DOB spokesman stated, “Whether you pay the fine or not, we want to make sure at the Department of Buildings that if you are issued a violation… that everything is code compliant and safe and we want to make sure that, that violation has been corrected.”

Calls to the contractor Platinum TNT Builders of Brooklyn were not returned before the publication of this article.